Meet the Winners of the 2015 Badger Sponsorship Powered by LARABAR

At the beginning of this month, we unveiled the Badger Sponsorship Powered by LARABAR where a handful of aspiring thru-hikers would win some excellent gear, food, and resources, including a grand prize of…

• Twelve (12) boxes of LARABARs (192 BARS! Your choice of flavors)
• One (1) Big Agnes FlyCreek UL2 Tent (The same tent I use, multiple award winning)
• One (1) Big Agnes Bellyache Mountain SL 17 Sleeping Bag (Long)
• One (1) Big Agnes Q-Core SL Sleeping Pad
• One (1) Gregory Backpack or Gossamer Gear Backpack (Your choice of any style from either brand)
• Seven (7) Good To-Go Gourmet Dehydrated Meals (Their Thai Curry recently won an award from Backpacker Magazine)
• Two (2) cases (16 packs) of The New Primal Grass-Fed Beef Jerky (Super tasty.Appalachian Trials Readers: get a 20% discount by using coupon code “AT Nation” at checkout)
• One (1) pair of Bedrock Sandals (Your choice of style)
• Five (5) Innate Mentor Storage Sacs (Your choice of size. I used these during my thru-hike and continue to do so, they are great)
• Three (3) Mail Drops Courtesy of OmPiHikes
• Three (3) AT Coaching Sessions
• One Signed Copy of Appalachian Trials
• One eBook Copy of Appalachian Trials
• An invitation to become an Appalachian Trials Blogger

Contestants were asked to create a 90-second video explaining why they should be chosen as the winner. Winners would be determined by a combination of reader vote and our expert panel- a 50/50 valuation from each category.

This year was the most competitive to date.   We had over 40 submissions, more than twice from last year, and everyone absolutely brought their A-game.  All of the videos that made it through to the second round were good enough to win.  The thought and energy that was poured into these 90-second pitches revealed great dedication.  I have absolutely no doubt that this conviction will bring each and every one of the contestants great success during their thru-hike.

This year’s winners are:

5th Place: Reed Willard!  Congratulations Reed, you’ve won one box of LARABARs , one Gregory Backpack or Gossamer Gear Backpack, three packs of The New Primal Grass-Fed Beef Jerky, one pair of Bedrock Sandals, one Innate Mentor Storage Sac, and one eBook copy of Appalachian Trials.

4th Place: Steph!  Congratulations Steph, you’ve won one box of LARABARs, one Gregory Backpack or Gossamer Gear Backpack, three packs of The New Primal Grass-Fed Beef Jerky, one pair of Bedrock Sandals, two Innate Mentor Storage Sac, and one eBook copy of Appalachian Trials.

3rd Place: Alli Hanley! Congratulations Alli, you’ve won three boxes of LARABARs, one Gregory Backpack or Gossamer Gear Backpack, three packs of The New Primal Grass-Fed Beef Jerky, one Good To-Go Dehydrated Meal, one pair of Bedrock Sandals, three Innate Mentor Storage Sac, one eBook copy of Appalachian Trials, and an invitation to join the Blogging team here at Appalachian Trials!

Runner-up: Kayla Leisenheimer! Congratulations Kayla, you’ve won four boxes of LARABARs (Assorted Flavors), one Gregory Backpack or Gossamer Gear Backpack, three packs of The New Primal Grass-Fed Beef Jerky, two Good To-Go Dehydrated Meals, one pair of Bedrock Sandals, four Innate Mentor Storage Sac, two Mail Drops courtesy of OmPiHikes, one AT Coaching Session, one eBook copy of Appalachian Trials, and an invitation to join the Blogging team here at Appalachian Trials!

And the grand prize winner of the 2015 Badger Sponsorship Powered by LARABAR was….

Joseph O’Donnell!

Congratulations, Joe!  You are the winner of all the prizes listed at the top of this page!  Thank you to everyone who submitted a video and to all those who voted.  The Badger Sponsorship continues to up its game every year because of you!  Future thru-hikers thank you.

And of course, none of this would be possible without our very generous sponsors.  You enable dreams.  Thank you to:

Title Sponsor

Community Sponsors